1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf clubs, and more particularly to improvements in the golf ball contacting portions of a putter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Those engaged in the game of golf are well aware of the effect that the various mechanical aspects of the several golf clubs have on the number of strokes needed to drive a golf ball into the cup that lines the hole. Simply, the eventual score of one's game is not just determined by one's musculature and agility, but also by the kinematic properties of the golf clubs and in particular those of the putter by which most scoring differentials are amassed. What one usually wants for this part of the game is a club that suppresses and attenuates one's stroking mistakes while predictably providing the repeatable mechanics of a pendulum squarely striking an object (the golf ball) in the course of its swing.
Consequently most, if not all, golfers, when putting, often push the golf ball for some small amount of time in an attempt to better control the ball rather than strike the ball with an instant impact with the putter. When the ball is thus pushed it wants to roll but the flat surface of the face of the golf club creates friction and drag in the opposite direction that causes the ball to slow down, hop, and generally disturbs the roll of the ball.
The putting part of the golf game always entails the variables of the growth density of the green, how recently and closely it has been mowed, the various ground undulations and the associated growth directions thereof along with the irrigation practices of the golf course. All these impart varying levels of resistance to the movement of the club head through the growth and also the movement of the ball over the green which are then even further modified by any spin that may have been imparted to the ball as it was struck by the putter.
It is the foregoing variables that have troubled the committed golf player, resulting in various golf club structures that in one way or another seek to correct or reduce their effect. For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,053 to Schemberger; U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,098 to Monahan et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,056 to Minotti; U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,799 to Johnson; Des. 193,399 to McGranaghan; and many others describe club configurations provided with rollers that support the club head as it is moved over the ground, thus reducing the effect of varying growth. Alternatively, well rounded, smooth bottom surfaces have been proposed to limit the variable effect of grass resistance that may be imparted to the club, as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,533 to Finn; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,915 to Flis. While suitable for the purposes intended, each of the foregoing fails to control the variability of the spin imparted to the ball in the course of the club impact produced by the interfering growth bed on which the ball rests.
Those prior art references that have addressed the concerns over the imparted spin, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,965 to Burgess, while also suitable for the purposes intended, expose the bottom parts of the rotary striking surface to the randomly distributed growth covering the green which then imparts its own variable spin reverse momentum to the ball, thus opposing the rolling momentum to reduce the distance of the put. A club configuration that consistently limits the sources for all imparted ball spin is therefore extensively desired and it is one such configuration that is disclosed herein.